Technological advancement begins with devouring.

Chapter 97 Conditions for Promotion to Personal Disciple (5th Update)

Seeing Jiang Chen's attitude, the Illusionary Spirit King became even more satisfied with his newly accepted disciple, nodding and smiling repeatedly.

"very good."

The Illusionary Spirit King looked at Jiang Chen and said, "I have another habit when accepting disciples. The better you perform and the more outstanding your talent, the more resources you will receive from me. If you become mediocre, I will no longer provide you with any resources. Your talent is good, but you must work hard to realize it."

"Yes, disciple will remember." Jiang Chen replied respectfully.

"You haven't been to the primordial universe yet, and you haven't chosen the 'Chaos Monument,' so your future cultivation path is still undecided."

The Phantom King frowned, seemingly troubled.

After a moment, the Illusionary King spoke, "There are still a few years before the initial universe opens. In these few years, you should focus on comprehending the laws and laying a solid foundation."

As he spoke, the Phantom King pointed, and a screen appeared in mid-air, displaying a list.

Judging from their names, they are all secret techniques.

“You are skilled in the ‘Wind Element Law’. Here are over eight hundred manuals suitable for comprehending the Wind Element Law. They are all relatively common manuals and not particularly valuable. I will buy them all for you. You will receive them when you return to ‘Huanyu Island’. These manuals are enough for you to cultivate the Wind Element Law to a decent level.”

"Besides that, the superior law of wind is the 'law of time.' I will then bestow upon you a secret manual to aid in comprehending the law of time, the 'Undying Dharma Body.' This is a time-based defensive secret technique. When cultivated to its peak, as long as you are not instantly killed, you can instantly recover to your peak condition no matter how severe the injury. Mentalists, especially illusionists, have a weakness in their ability to survive. If you can master the 'Undying Dharma Body,' even if you only reach the first level, your ability to survive will be greatly enhanced."

"In addition, there are 627 sets of illusionist soul manuals, which include many systems such as attack, defense, illusion, enslavement, and possession. These are the foundational manuals of my lineage. Although they are foundational, they are also the core. You must study them carefully."

"In addition to these secret manuals, I will also bestow upon you a set of weapons and armor, but it will take some time to prepare. You will receive them once you leave the initial universe."

"After arriving at the 'Secret Realm of Death,' do not accept any cultivation missions. Focus on studying the secret manuals I have given you and researching the laws. Once you have emerged from the initial universe, you can then make targeted improvements."

The Phantom King quickly explained his arrangements for Jiang Chen.

In summary, the goal is to help Jiang Chen thoroughly understand the laws and lay a solid foundation.

Once we reach the initial universe and have chosen our future development path, we can then plan the next steps for development.

Jiang Chen was speechless.

These secret techniques are indeed very rare in the outside world.

Especially the "Immortal Dharma Body" set, which is a coveted item even many immortals would covet.

More than 800 sets of ordinary manuals, plus the "Undying Dharma Body," are worth nearly 100,000 points in the treasure vault of the core secret realm. The Illusionary Spirit King simply gave them to him for free, which can be described as extremely generous.

After all, Jiang Chen was only a nominal disciple of the Illusionary Spirit King.

However, Jiang Chen felt that he didn't particularly need these things, and they weren't of much value to him.

After all, the path Jiang Chen took largely relied on the system.

law?

Jiang Chen was certain that, at least regarding the laws of the wind element, once he reached the third tier, the system library would contain even deeper content.

Perhaps even 'superior laws' such as time and space will emerge.

As one's system level continues to improve, one will eventually comprehend all the laws, and will have no need for such secret manuals or techniques to aid in comprehending the laws.

On the contrary, some other precious resources are more valuable to Jiang Chen.

However, these are things that obviously cannot be said.

Jiang Chen couldn't possibly be picky and demand that the Illusionary Spirit King change the treasure he was given.

"Of all my disciples, not counting those who have perished, there are 19 direct disciples among the surviving ones. As for the nominal disciples, including you, there are a total of 117. All of my nominal disciples have the opportunity to be promoted to true disciples, and you are no exception."

The Illusionary Spirit King glanced at Jiang Chen and continued, "I have set three tests. As long as you complete any one of them, you can become my personal disciple."

"First, once you enter the initial universe and select the 'Chaos Stele,' cross the 'Bridge to Heaven' corresponding to the Chaos Stele. Depending on your level, you will reach the corresponding number of levels. At the Universe level, you need to cross nine levels of the Bridge to Heaven; at the Domain Lord level, you need to cross twelve levels; and at the World Lord level, you need to cross fifteen levels. If you can achieve this, you will become my personal disciple."

"Secondly, you are now a member of the 'Death Realm'. You can participate in the qualifying battles and climb up step by step, or you can try your luck in the 'Glory Battlefield'. No matter what method you use, once you advance to the 'Glory Realm', you can become my personal disciple."

"Third, this is also the simplest path. If you master all 627 illusionist manuals I gave you within three hundred years, you can become my personal disciple."

The Phantom King spoke eloquently, outlining the requirements for advancing to the 'personal disciple' level.

"Yes," Jiang Chen replied respectfully. "This disciple will do his utmost to not disappoint Master."

Jiang Chen has not yet decided whether to follow the path arranged by the Phantom King.

However, saying some nice words can't hurt.

Seeing Jiang Chen's attitude, the Illusionary Spirit King was very satisfied and nodded, saying, "You come from a humble background, so you must be lacking in resources. I will give you another 100 Chaos Units. If you need to buy any odds and ends, you won't be short of money."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jiang Chen received an email from the Cosmic Galaxy Bank, informing him that his account had gained one hundred Mixed Yuan Units, and he had been promoted to a three-star customer.

Unfortunately, it's just a mixed unit, not an integral.

Although they are theoretically of the same value, many treasures that can be bought with points may not be available with mixed units.

Even if you could buy it, it wouldn't be for a certain price.

However, this amount of money was quite substantial for Jiang Chen.

Unfortunately, in order to ensure his identity was not exposed, Jiang Chen dared not transfer the money to his main body.

Otherwise, they could be used to manufacture a [Space Furnace], constantly generating more money with money. In two or three years, these 100 Chaos Units could at least double in value.

However, these 100 Mixed Yuan Units are enough to strengthen the 'Erso' clone.

"These resources are enough for you before you go to the initial universe. Once you arrive in the initial universe and select the 'Chaos Monument,' I will prepare some more resources for you depending on the situation."

The Illusion King looked at Jiang Chen and said seriously, "Since you became my disciple, I will only provide you with these two resources. If you want more, you must demonstrate your abilities! Remember, apart from the personal disciple assessment, I don't care about your strength in other areas; I only care about your achievements in the 'Illusionist' lineage!"

Jiang Chen respectfully replied, "Yes, disciple has remembered."

After leaving the Illusionary Spirit King, Jiang Chen hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow the king's instructions and study the thousands of secret manuals.

There are over 800 manuals on the laws of wind, over 600 manuals from the Illusionist lineage, and an extremely valuable manual on the laws of time.

Even just skimming through these manuals to get a general understanding would take a considerable amount of time.

Halfway through the process, 'Erso's' clone arrived at the headquarters of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.

However, they did not linger. Led by the staff, they changed to another spaceship and quickly traveled back into the dark universe, embarking on their journey to the 'Secret Realm of Death'.

This also made Jiang Chen wonder: Why do we have to go to headquarters? Why can't we just go to the Death Realm?

However, considering that the geniuses selected through the Genius Battle would first be sent to the Initial Universe for the Chaos City Lord to 'take a look', Jiang Chen had a vague guess in his mind.

"It seems that a Universe Lord is probably stationed at the headquarters of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. Is my trip to the headquarters to have this Universe Lord verify my identity?"

"This clone of mine altered the fluctuations of the soul and the spirit. I don't know if he didn't notice, or if he noticed but didn't care?"

Jiang Chen's mind raced with various speculations.

However, Jiang Chen never spent much time on questions that couldn't be answered quickly, and soon put these guesses aside, focusing on studying the secret technique bestowed by the Illusion King.

Jiang Chen roughly organized the secret techniques to aid in comprehending the wind element laws and then set them aside, leaving only a set of movement technique manuals as a backup for cultivation.

On the contrary, it was the secret manuals of the illusionists that interested Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen hasn't decided yet whether he should devote a lot of energy to studying illusion techniques.

According to Jiang Chen's thinking, it's highly unlikely he would do that.

But Jiang Chen would not refuse to learn about everything related to illusionists.

Compared to the more direct attacks of martial artists and controllers, illusionists' methods are often difficult to defend against.

The more he understands, the better Jiang Chen will be able to deal with enemies skilled in illusions in the future.

Moreover, the secret manuals of the Illusionist lineage bestowed by the Illusion King are not limited to soul attacks and illusion attacks.

It also includes many other methods such as soul defense, soul enslavement, and possession.

There are even some tips and tricks related to the soul.

It's less of a 'illusionist's' manual and more of a soul-based secret technique.

Putting everything else aside, Jiang Chen believes that it is at least necessary to study the area of ​​soul defense.

Although the [Spiritual Ascension] specialization gave Jiang Chen strong soul resistance, you can never have too much in terms of survival ability.

It took several months to compile these more than a thousand sets of secret manuals.

Jiang Chen quickly selected the parts he would prioritize for cultivation.

The Wind-based movement technique manual "Swift Wind Without a Trace," and 58 different soul defense techniques.

These 59 manuals will be the main content that 'Erso's' clone will cultivate in the next few years.

As for the other more than 800 wind-type manuals that assist in comprehending the laws, the time-type life-saving technique "Undying Golden Body", and more than 500 other manuals of the Illusionist lineage, they are not on Jiang Chen's 'priority list' for the time being.

-

After flying through the dark universe for several months, Jiang Chen finally arrived at the 'Secret Realm of Death'.

The environment in the secret realm deeply impressed Jiang Chen.

The primordial energy of the universe was so dense that it seemed to condense into liquid, floating in the void as a thick fog, a vast expanse of white.

If you grab a large clump of dense fog and compress it, you get a piece of cosmic crystal.

The primordial energy of the universe is so concentrated that it not only greatly enhances the efficiency of daily cultivation.

At the same time, one's perception of the laws will become clearer.

After all, laws and primordial energy are inseparable.

"Your Highness, the 'Death Continent' is just ahead." The crew member inside the spaceship pointed to a continent floating in the void ahead and introduced, "The Death Continent is about 400 billion kilometers long and 180 billion kilometers wide. All members of the 'Death Realm' live here."

"The 'Death Realm' already had the most members. With each batch of core geniuses recruited, hundreds of people were assigned to the 'Death Realm.' Over time, the 'Death Realm' now has tens of thousands of geniuses."

“Your Highness, although the ‘Death Continent’ is vast, its ‘residential area’ is quite small, roughly the size of a large city on a typical inhabited planet. All geniuses are confined to the ‘residential area’. The rest of the area is a restricted zone, containing numerous classified facilities, and no one is allowed to approach without permission.”

"Furthermore, within the 'residential area,' except for a few places such as the martial arts arena and training grounds, the use of force is absolutely prohibited. Violation of this rule will be met with extremely severe punishment, even execution. Your Highness, you must take note of this prohibition!"

The staff carefully explained the rules here.

Compared to the Virtual Universe Company's 'Primordial Secret Realm' and 'Original Secret Realm', the rules and regulations in the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance's 'Death Secret Realm' are much stricter.

But this is normal.

After all, it's the lowest tier of secret realms, with less say and more people, so naturally the restrictions are stricter.

Jiang Chen had already learned from Qinia that there were far fewer rules in the 'Blood Battle Secret Realm' and 'Peerless Secret Realm'.

The higher the level of the secret realm, the fewer geniuses there are. Everyone's residence is far apart, and they have almost no chance to meet in reality, so there is naturally no need for too many rules to restrain them.

The spaceship continued flying for several more hours before landing in an open area outside a vast city.

"Your Highness, I'll leave you here. The 'Guide' will explain the rest of the details. I have other tasks to attend to, so I'll take my leave now." The spaceship staff escorted Jiang Chen to a 'Guide,' gave him a brief introduction, and then immediately started the spaceship and left.

“Your Highness, although we have already met in the virtual universe, let’s get to know each other again. I am ‘Nome,’ the guide of the Death Realm.”

The guide, 'Nome,' smiled and gestured invitingly: 'Your Highness, please, let me explain the details of this place to you.'

Jiang Chen smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Norm."